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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2019 Oct;25(10):917-925.
doi: 10.1089/tmj.2018.0219. Epub 2018 Nov 10.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Telehealth Self-Management to Standard Outpatient Management in Underserved Black and Hispanic Patients Living with Heart Failure

Renee Pekmezaris  1   2   3   4 , Christian N Nouryan  1   2   4 , Rebecca Schwartz  3 , Stacy Castillo  5 , Amgad N Makaryus  1   5 , Deborah Ahern  5 , Meredith B Akerman  4 , Martin L Lesser  1   2   4 , Lorinda Bauer  5 , Lawrence Murray  6 , Kathleen Pecinka  7 , Roman Zeltser  1   5 , Meng Zhang  1   4 , Paola DiMarzio  1   2   3   4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Telehealth Self-Management to Standard Outpatient Management in Underserved Black and Hispanic Patients Living with Heart Failure

Renee Pekmezaris et al. Telemed J E Health. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Background:Although the American Heart Association promotes telehealth models to improve care access, there is limited literature on its use in underserved populations. This study is the first to compare utilization and quality of life (QoL) for underserved black and Hispanic heart failure (HF) patients assigned to telehealth self-monitoring (TSM) or comprehensive outpatient management (COM) over 90 days.Methods:This randomized controlled trial enrolled 104 patients. Outcomes included emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, QoL, depression, and anxiety. Binary outcomes for utilization were analyzed using chi-square or Fisher's exact test. Poisson or negative binomial regression, repeated-measures analysis of variance, or generalized estimating equations were also used as appropriate.Results:Of 104 patients, 31% were Hispanic, 69% black, 41% women, and 72% reported incomes of <$10,000/year. Groups did not differ regarding binary ED visits (relative risk [RR] = 1.37, confidence interval [CI] = 0.83-2.27), hospitalization (RR = 0.92, CI = 0.57-1.48), or length of stay in days (TSM = 0.54 vs. COM = 0.91). Number of all-cause hospitalizations was significantly lower for COM (TSM = 0.78 vs. COM = 0.55; p = 0.03). COM patients reported greater anxiety reduction from baseline to 90 days (TSM = 50-28%; COM = 57-13%; p = 0.05).Conclusions:These findings suggest that TSM is not effective in reducing utilization or improving QoL for underserved patients with HF. Future studies are needed to determine whether TSM can be effective for populations facing health care access issues.

Keywords: cardiology/cardiovascular disease; home health monitoring; telehealth; telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

<b>Fig. 1.</b>
Fig. 1.
Consort diagram (patient flow). COM, comprehensive outpatient management; ITT, intention-to-treat analysis; NH, nursing home; TSM, telehealth self-monitoring.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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